Innovation in Construction A Project Life Cycle Approach

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SCRI Research Report4Innovation in constructionA Project Life Cycle ApproachInnovative Lean constructionMMC required tighter, more reliable processes leadingto the adoption of lean principles. Lean construction isthe continuous process of eliminating waste, meeting orexceeding all customer requirements, focusing on theentire value stream and the pursuit of perfection inthe execution of a constructed project. Lean constructionmay require more time in the design and planningphases, but this attention eliminates or minimizesconflicts that can dramatically change budgets andschedules. Supply chain management is an importantsupport function for facilitating lean construction. Inaddition, organisations are required to change theirbusiness processes to deliver the expected benefitsof lean construction. Standardisation of the finishingprocesses brought benefit to the supply chain,reducing wastage of materials on site as well as wastedoperations.MMC and lean construction involve totally differentoperations that were threatening for the whole industryin the beginning. Not only did the contractor haveto experience challenges to shift to new processes butalso the subcontractors had to follow at the same paceand they had to adjust the operations based on the siteconditions, which were not always favourable.Construction in this way was far ahead of normalschedules due to the unexpectedly quick insallationsof the timber frames and the construction team haddifficulties in allocating sufficient number of staff tocontinue with the finishings. The major barrier andfrustration for the contractor in this phase was the poorservices; service disconnections and relocations causedmajor delays in the project. Despite struggling in theconstruction phase, supply chain partners are expectinglong term benefits from MMC and lean construction.Innovative methods and toolsPlus Dane Group devote resources from across the Groupto ensure they understand and are able to effectivelydeploy new technologies and techniques as theyemerge, ranging from renewable energy sources throughsustainable housing solutions to MMC to create highvalue low cost solutions for the clients. They are keento create a true learning culture with Cruden andmechanisms to enable more sharing knowledge andbest practice.Cruden is very keen to share its knowledge andexperience through the supply chain. They try to fosterinnovation based on their business and innovation plan.Their ultimate objective is to be able to meet client needsbetter and be able to adapt to a changing world. Thekey actions that will help them innovate both individuallyand collectively focus on the staff, clients, suppliers, andlean construction. These are listed as set as a series ofconversations in their business plan:n ‘Innovator of the Month’ to reward the individualshaving exceptional contributionsn Chairman’s lunches every two months to give directaccess to the topn Sustainability Group to research innovation within theindustryn Marketing Meeting Group to collate up to datefeedback from direct contact by Senior Managersn Feedback from the Customer Care Team and annualKPI Radar Chartsn Salford University’s SCRI Team to conduct a detailedsurvey of the RSL Client’s by interviewn Work at Salford University in the ‘Think Lab’ with‘Innovation Circles’ that bring together suppliers andsubcontractorsn Assessment by the suppliers next year to help thembecome a learning organisationn A series of small projects with a live construction arenato challenge their norms about how they performn Sharing the ‘Lean’ learning amongst all theirconstruction teams and exploring new ways ofthinking and working using the Castlefields pilots asa case study.Contribution to quality of life:The main attention is drawn to economical, socialand environmental issues in respect to the needs offuture generations in the Sustainable Communities Planintroduced by the UK government. Castlefields hasbeen undergoing significant transformation, includingsubstantial public and private sector investment. ALiveability Study undertaken by Liverpool Housing Trustas part of the overarching regeneration partnershipestablished that 78% of residents feel that theregeneration, through demolition and new build has ledto an improvement of the estate. 50% of residents nowsay the regeneration of the area has influenced theirdecision to stay on Castlefields. Castlefields regenerationprogramme seems to have pleased the residents so far.24
INNOVATION VALUE CHAINIdea Generation:The project was very notable for its use of a ‘clientdriveninnovation’ approach to idea generation.Building regulation on social housing had a greatimpact on the processes and performance of thisregeneration project. The UK Goernment’s initiative tocreate sustainable homes is released in the CfSH. This coderequires the contractors to use innovative products in theirconstruction processes and deliver the specified sustainabilityperformance levels. The client was experienced interms of MMC and introduced the idea of using closedtimber frames to achieve sustainability. The next stagewas to search for the right product and assess its ‘buildability’with the contractor.A further example of the work done to gain a full understandingof the client is provided by the work commissionedby Cruden with the University of Salford to surveyRSL clients. This service driven approach to innovation ismirrored by the feedback collected from the customercare team, Marketing Meeting Group and performanceKPIs.Product innovation is only one component of the IVC inthe construction supply chain, the responsibility of whichlies with the suppliers. However, the implementationrequires joint effort by the client, designer, contractor,suppliers, and subcontractors. The project team ensuredthe successful implementation of product innovationthrough a series of organisational innovations.A principal idea that was brought into the project wasthe use of partnering and associated process improvementas called for in Egan report. Although these are wellestablished ideas, they are not always applied successfully.The project team ensured that, with the partneringapproach in place through the procurement route, stepswere taken to establish trust and drive efficiency startingfrom the design process till the execution of MMC.Taken together, the project team have used a widevariety of measures to facilitate and support thegeneration of new ideas. A scheme such as ‘Innovatorof the Month’ ensures that all staff are aware of theimportance of innovation and have the opportunity tocontribute, this is supported by the idea of Chairman’slunches to firmly establish the fact that there is nohierarchy or monopoly on the generation of ideas. Thisconcept is extended beyond the organisation through‘Innovation Circles’ that bring together the supply chainin an open approach to sharing ideas and tacklingproblems.There are also many instances where a moretraditional ‘scientific’ approach is used to generate ideas.Considerable time and effort was committed toensure that the design was buildable and that modernconstruction techniques could be used. Thescientific approach extends to the use of performancemonitoring throughout the project. Performancemonitoring provides the information needed to removeinefficiencies and drive improvement. This is true notonly for this project but for the ongoing applicationsof solutions developed on this project into followingprojects.Conversion of Ideas:A combination of open and scientific approaches wasused to bring ideas into the project. Idea generation isonly useful if the ideas are then put into practice. Thekey decision in this regard was to use a procurementapproach that enabled early contractorinvolvement. This ensures that ideas can be tested for their‘buildability’ and building methods can be developedthat are appropriate to the design. The InnovationCircles created by Cruden provide one method wherebythe supply chain members are formally brought togetherto help put solutions into practice.It is also important to note that many technicalsolutions could only be delivered through the organisationalinnovation enabled by the procurement route. Theuse of MMC is often seen as a technical or productinnovation. However, the successful use of MMCon this project relied on process innovation. Theproject team identified that potential benefits of MMCcould only be achieved through the application of leanprinciples that involves supply chain integration and processreengineering.Contractor’s devotion to learn about lean principles wasappreciated by the client and they shared the cost forlean consultancy to deliver higher performance.25
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